Donnellan and his players agreed that their road to Saturday's Division III regional final, an 8 p.m. tilt against No. 3 Archishop Riordan (19-11) of San Francisco at American Canyon High, was made possible by relaxing and having fun again.

"We weren't expected to do much," senior captain Sam Dines said. "Coach told just told us that if we wanted to make a run and do special things, we needed to not overthink things, and to just play loose and have a good time."

The good times sure are rolling.

Drake (25-7) is now a win away from its first NorCal crown since 1994 and two from becoming Marin's first public school state champ since Tamalpais in 2000.

But a late-season funk nearly prevented the Pirates' bracket-busting run. They were bounced in the Marin County Athletic League semifinals as the top seed by San Marin. Eight days later, Drake dropped an overtime heartbreaker at home to Acalanes of Walnut Creek in the North Coast Section quarterfinals, missing out on an automatic regional bid.

Just getting to this tourney took some help.

Powerhouse Bishop O'Dowd moved up to play in the Open Division for the regional playoffs, creating a spot for the Pirates. With El Cerrito, another heavyweight, also going to the Open, the D-III field was up for grabs.

"We felt we had a second life," Dines said. "Going in, we thought we could compete with anyone."

Added junior Jesse Hunt: "We wanted to make a statement."

They've certainly done that, with three rousing wins — two away from home — in a seven-day span. The biggest was last Saturday's 69-62 quarterfinal upset of top-seeded Sacred Heart Cathedral, a two-time defending NorCal champ. Hunt broke out as a tournament star, pouring in 38 points with a dominant inside-outside performance, but the entire team has raised its game. The Pirates' up-tempo offense is thriving in NorCals, scoring 67.3 points per game, and their free throw shooting — a weak spot all season long — has closed out the last two contests.

Donnellan, in his 22nd year, has been through this before — he coached Drake's back-to-back NorCal appearances in 1994 and 1995. He didn't quite expect this group to reach that same stage. The junior-heavy Pirates came in talented but young, having graduated 10 seniors. Junior point guard Malik Huff is the only returning starter, while other key role players — Cade Yongue, Jasper Verduin, Dane Wells, James Hamilton and Brandon Vergara — are all newcomers.

Young or not, a team with nothing to lose and a rush of confidence can do some spectacular things.

"We're smiling from ear to ear. They are just rolling right now," Donnellan said. "There's a lot to be said for feeling like no one can beat you, like you can't be stopped." The Crusaders, a 2013 NorCal finalist in D-IV, look be that roadblock.

Riordan is enjoying its own unexpected run, coming off an 72-68 overtime upset of No. 2-seed Campolino. The team is led by a pair of senior cousins in Jiday and Chiefy Ugbaja, who both average just under 20 points per game and combined for 51 against Campolindo.

Asked about the Pirates, Riordan coach Rich Buckner was "not at all surprised" to see them in the final.

"People are calling the game against Sacred Heart an upset," he said, "but that was only because of the numbers (seeds) in front of the teams."

Drake and Riordan met back in December, with the Crusaders winning 51-50 at their own preseason tournament. But neither coach is putting much stock in the result.

"That may as well have been last year. Both teams have grown and changed so much that you're probably doing yourself an injustice by scouting that tape," Buckner said. "People probably didn't expect us or them to be there and I'm sure both teams will play their hearts out."